The Rainy River is known mostly for its walleye and sturgeon fishing, but the pike fishing can be very good also, especially during the spring and fall. In the spring, the walleye run is what brings most people to the Rainy River and northern pike are usually a bonus fish for most anglers. The same thing goes for the fall. Walleye move back into the river to follow the shiner minnows and pike can also be found feeding heavily in the river before the winter. During the summer, northern pike fishing is usually much better on the lake than in the river, but there are still some nice pike caught in the river during the summer.
Fish the Mouths
There are many smaller rivers that feed into the Rainy River as well as smaller fingers that are just off the Rainy River. You can often find some current and a variety of fish feeding in these areas. Northern pike will be here too, especially in the spring time.
Some of the bigger, more obvious spots are where Rainy River meets Lake of the Woods and at Clementson Bay, where the Rapid River flows into Rainy River. You’re going to be available to catch more species of fish than just northern pike, but if you want to target pike exclusively, these are good places to fish in the spring and fall.
Fish the Current Breaks
Northern pike will usually be found just outside of the current areas. Find current breaks that form pools of calmer water and you’ll usually find some pike. Add in some deeper water and you have more potential for more pike and possibly bigger pike too.
Fish the Deeper Water
Fish the deeper drop-offs near current breaks to find better quality pike, especially in the summer. When fishing deeper water, a lot of the current breaks will form from a quick drop-off or large boulders. You won’t see the current break on the surface, so it is important to use your electronics to find these better spots.
Best Baits for Northern Pike
Northern pike are known for eating just about everything they can get the mouths on and there is definitely some truth to that. For the most part, if it swims, pike may eat it. There are some baits that definitely will catch more pike than others though. Spinners, crankbaits, spoons, swimbaits and soft plastics are some of the best lures for targeting pike. Live baits such as minnows and perch are great baits too.
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Best Rigs for Northern Pike
There are many different rigs you can use for northern pike, however, since pike are so aggressive, you really don’t need to use as many of them as you would if you were trying to get good at largemouth bass fishing. For most situations, you can keep it real simple with a jighead and a minnow or soft plastic bait. To learn about some of the rigs that you can use, take a look at our best rigs for northern pike page.
Best Techniques for Northern Pike
Anglers catch pike with many different techniques. Casting, trolling and drifting are most popular ways to target pike, but there are some other methods that also work well too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for northern pike page.
Learn More About Northern Pike
Our northern pike fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our northern pike fishing website to learn more.
